Should Baby Bottles be Banned? A Moms Matter Hangout (VIDEO)

During this week's Moms Matter Google Hangout, some of your favorite writers from The Stir are discussing a recent post that got a lot of you out there talking— It’s about a proposed ban on baby bottles and formula in Venezuela.

Legislators are discussing a bill that would ban women from feeding infants formula unless the mother dies or has low breast milk production.

You all had some strong opinions on the topic-- and so did we.

Check it out:

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Most women agree that imposing a ban on bottles and formula isn't the way to go when it comes to encouraging mothers to breastfeed.

But this topic led us to talk about the attitudes moms hold about breastfeeding right here in the United States. It has become a hot button issue among mothers, to the point that all of us admitted to feeling pressured to breastfeed by friends and even by doctors, and judged when we weren't doing it "the right way" according to critics-- or especially when we weren't doing it at all.

Breastfeeding is such a personal decision and there are many reasons why a woman might have to choose not to do it- or why she might not be able to do it at all. I regret that we've gotten to the point as a society where many of us feel it's okay to harshly judge women who aren't breastfeeding their babies.

I also think it's interesting that many of the moms judging today were bottlefed when they were babies- In the seventies and early eighties, that's what most moms did- and we all seemed to turn out okay!

What do you think about our discussion? Do you think the pressure to breastfeed is just too much? Or is that just what it takes to make sure as many babies are breastfed as possible?